by Ted Chapin

Coming Out To Parents in the 1970s Wasn’t Easy But “Time Heals All.” Every every gay man knows at some point in their childhood, certainly by puberty, that – what their a1970s: Embracing Interracial Gay Love. “This Is Just A Great Big Family. Let’s Drop All The Prejudice.” Jacob and I moved to Philadelphia in 1972 because I was starting th1978: Celebrating Thanksgiving With Family Of Choice. “They Wanted To Welcome Me To Their World.” Well, I came out in 1970 in New Haven in the year after Stonewall. And the wReceiving A False-Positive HIV Test In The Mid-1980s: “I Thought This Could Be It.” Eric and I got to San Francisco in 1978. It wasn’t a good place to bring a boyfriend bec1988: “God, If You’re There, Please…I Need To Fall In Love With Someone Who’s Not Going To Die.” Well, it was April, 1988. I was living in San Francisco. There I was, a1990s: Following Societal Progress Gay Man Has To Learn “How To Be A Spouse Of A Gay Executive.” We were living in San Francisco. It was in 1993 that we had to move to Boston2000s: A Civil Union In Vermont And A Marriage In Massachusetts. “We Celebrate The Day We Met.” Well, Torrence and I moved to Boston in 1993. We were part of that South End g...

by Sheila Bligen

1950s: Experience During Naptime: “It Was An Inkling Of A Difference.” So being a native New Yorker, I started my early childhood education on the Lower East Side. I was fourLate 1950s: Neighborhood Crush: “She Was The Sexiest Thing I Had Ever Seen.” Okay, so in the late fifties, we – the big migration – so we moved from the Lower East Side t1960s: First Kiss With Another Girl Was “The Kiss Of Life.” So I’m 17. I’m living in Spanish Harlem and I’m venturing out to Harlem at this point. So Diane becomes one “I Learned How A Broken Heart Actually Feels.” So now I’m 17. I’m a senior in high school. I start to venture out. So I’ve become friends with Diane. Her house was a coFalling In Love, Breaking Up, And Reuniting: “Every Day Was The Best, Best, Best, Best Day Ever.” From my twenties into my thirties, I’m dealing with men and I’m living mOn Being Called An “Elder”: “I’m A Human Being. I’m Sheila. End Of Story.” I’m 67. And if I have to be put in put in a box, I embrace the term queer. But, I don’t...

by John Hilton

“What Was It Like? Stories by LGBTQ Elders” is a new program by I’m From Driftwood, in partnership with Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, and SAGE, the countEarly 1940s: “I Knew Way Back Then That I Was Gay.” When I was 7 or 8 years old, I noticed in the schoolyard, Public School 187, this beautiful young boy, golden boy. And I weAfter Meeting Bill In The Early 1950’s, “We Were Together For 54 Wonderful, Glorious Years.” When I was 18, I came back to New York, to Brooklyn. My father got me a furnisheDrafted in 1958: “My Eighteen Months Away Solidified Our Relationship.” In 1958, after five months with Bill, I got drafted. Bill would come down every Sunday to Fort Dix, bec“Who Are You!?” How A Domestic Partnership Helped During A Moment of Tragedy. Well, in 2003, we noticed in the New York Times that New York City was offering a domestic partneFamily Opens Up At Memorial For Late Partner: “We All Know. And We All Loved You And Uncle Ike.” Bill and I were together 54 years. I can truthfully say we could never get enoFamily Member To Ailing Gay Uncle: “You Still Have Time To Repent.” When I started getting on the computer and doing email and Facebook, Bill asked me, “What is Facebook all“You Need To Calm Down.” A Token of Love Becomes A Lifelong Passion. Bill told me, three months after we met and I got my draft notice and I was drafted and I was sent for 18 ...

by Lou R.

I don’t have a story. I have generalizations of gay life defined by me, by decade. I was born in the 1960’s with only memories of Vietnam and civil rights. In the 70’s, bein...